This invention relates to a tamper-evident seal for use under the caps of bottles and the like.
A variety of "tamper-resistant" or "tamper-proof" bottles and bottle caps have been proposed for inhibiting improper and unauthorized opening of bottles containing medicines, foods, etc., or at least for making apparent to an observer that such opening has occurred. The reason for this, of course, is to protect purchasers against third parties tampering with bottle contents by placing such purchasers on notice that such tampering has occurred.
One common method of inhibiting tampering with the contents of a bottle is to place a foil seal over the bottle opening under the cap. This arrangement has been fairly effective against casual tampering since it is difficult to remove a foil seal without tearing or breaking the seal and any attempt to replace the seal would be reasonably evident. However, the seals in present use fit just over the bottle opening with no part of the seal extending downwardly about the sides of the bottle neck. Thus, if extra care were exercised, the seal can be peeled off the bottle opening for example by appropriate use of a razor blade or other similar instrument, to allow access to the interior of the bottle, and then the foil seal carefully replaced so that there is little evidence that tampering has occurred.
Of course, there are a number of other arrangements for providing tamper-resistant bottles or bottle caps including use of a film which is heat shrunk over the bottle top and cap. This approach does provide a readily observable indication as to whether or not tampering with the bottle has occurred, but the heat shrunk film is quite unattractive and makes it difficult for stacking the bottles or containers on which the film is placed.
Another approach for discouraging tampering is to place a shrink band about the bottle and cap so that the band overlaps the lower portion of a cap and the neck of the bottle just below the cap. It has been found, however, that such shrink bands may be removed and replaced fairly easily without leaving visible signs that the bottle has been tampered with.
Examples of prior art tamper-resistant arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,733,002, 3,459,322, 3,615,714 and 3,088,830.